Add To Collection
Add to Collection
MindGutter - New York City
MindGutter - New York City
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
MindGutter - New York City
In a direct
response to the NYC Commissioners Plan of 1811, the proposal instills
natural storm water management principals within the world famous grid of
Manhattan,
draining the City’s central core into a ring of floating wetlands constructed along
the islands perimeter, to provide a bio-filtration alternative in the heart of
the world’s second largest metropolis.
Regardless
of the current urban plan or other design impediments, water flows in one
direction: downwards, to its lowest topographical point. In an existing context, the easiest path of
non-resistance is along previous watercourses winding their way down to a low-lying
discharge point, before being filtered and continuing along to the sea. In the NYC Commissioners Plan of 1811, a
majority of Manhattan
was superimposed with a grid development scheme, partitioning the island into
200’ x 800' rectangles that could be purchased, and easily subdivided for
profit. Though the Commissioners Plan
has had far reaching and legendary effects on the urban development of New York,
it was not without purposeful faults. It
was intended to ease development cost, growth, way-finding, and traffic patters. As such, the Commissioners Plan paved over the existing waterways and
landscapes, requiring vast sums of capital to be continually spent diverting
grey-water into man-made, contained culverts. Current
waste-water treatment has proven moderately successful, but still cannot manage
to account for billions of gallons discharged into the Hudson and East Rivers when storm water
levels exceed carrying capacity. Annually, it costs untold billions of taxpayer assets to filter waste-water, operate, maintain, and continually repair facilities. (PlanNYC
Sustainable Stormwater Management, pg 10).
This
proposal seeks to re-unite topographic principals within the grated urban context of
Manhattan to
highlight a simple solution to NYC’s storm water management: natural drainage
& mitigation. It is intended to be a
showcase of bio-filtration and sustainable development principals at the 'Crossroads
of the World'. To achieve this, massive
change is proposed to highlight the necessity and severity for which a new
system is needed in order to offset peak storm water demands.
Intensive
study of the current topographical expanse of Manhattan reveled that an elevated 'crest' runs North-South along a majority of the western edge of the island, forking/branching into a fingered V at the approximation of Times
Square before continuing south to the CBD (img. 2, Proposed Site Plan). A majority of the buried waterways flow perpendicular to this spine, encouraging strategic East/West streets to be
transformed along their long axis into bio-filtration boulevards. The human
density of the region & popularity of bicycles as a secondary form of transit
are further encouraged along these traffic free routes.
They contain far less traffic stops than their North/South counterparts,
and are forty feet wider than typical E/W streets.
As discovered
between a comparison of today’s current topographical maps, the 1863 Viele Map
& the 1789 British Commissioners Map of New York City, the areas both
currently occupied by Broadway & 42nd
Street were at one time the location of feeder streams,
channeling storm runoff into natural salt marshes upon joining the Hudson &
East River. Still remaining low
topographical features today, these avenues are to form the heart of
the proposal. Over the last century, the
City’s wetlands have shrank by almost 90% (PlanNYC Sustainable Stormwater
Management, pg 31). The proposal seeks
to mimic pre-development hydrology conditions, turning the crossroads of
Broadway & 42nd Street into a massive drainage swale that contains surface
wastewater onsite, slowly discharging it back into the aquifer along a
vegetative pathway leading to riverside marshlands for even greater filtration. By doing this, this system removes a immense chunk of
discharge from the city’s current water management infrastructure, while
effectively capturing & bio-filtering a majority of the onsite wastewater
before it returns to the main river courses.
It also creates positive 'green landmark' for the public, while providing an
even greater network of landscaped recreation space for non-motorized
travel in the heart of the city. As previously noted, the 800'
length of the East/West development encourages pedestrian and bicycle safety,
segregating it from the pathways of the few mass transit vehicles allowed to
transgress across the site. All pavement
situated on these greenways are to be pervious, with water drainage-ways
consisting of inclined surfaces lined with retentive vegetation. This includes numerous deciduous trees, groundcovers
and native ornamental grasses. Educational
displays along its length provide a “walking gallery” of information to users, showcasing
the city’s efforts to enforce sustainable practices while additionally tapping
the luxury & beauty of Manhattan
pedestrian life. These avenues are to
cut through the central city, extended to the larger network that currently
exists along city's perimeter.
In
conclusion, the proposal seek a return to a natural scheme after being removed from
public domain for more than two hundred years.
Using a careful study of the existing topographic conditions and previous
waterway transit routes, a landscaped swale is to be provided in order to
bio-filter onsite storm water. Highlighting
the intersection of Broadway & 42nd Street, this design is intended as an
international showcase of New York City's ability to preserve its ecological
system upon the very "Crossroads of the World".
response to the NYC Commissioners Plan of 1811, the proposal instills
natural storm water management principals within the world famous grid of
Manhattan,
draining the City’s central core into a ring of floating wetlands constructed along
the islands perimeter, to provide a bio-filtration alternative in the heart of
the world’s second largest metropolis.
Regardless
of the current urban plan or other design impediments, water flows in one
direction: downwards, to its lowest topographical point. In an existing context, the easiest path of
non-resistance is along previous watercourses winding their way down to a low-lying
discharge point, before being filtered and continuing along to the sea. In the NYC Commissioners Plan of 1811, a
majority of Manhattan
was superimposed with a grid development scheme, partitioning the island into
200’ x 800' rectangles that could be purchased, and easily subdivided for
profit. Though the Commissioners Plan
has had far reaching and legendary effects on the urban development of New York,
it was not without purposeful faults. It
was intended to ease development cost, growth, way-finding, and traffic patters. As such, the Commissioners Plan paved over the existing waterways and
landscapes, requiring vast sums of capital to be continually spent diverting
grey-water into man-made, contained culverts. Current
waste-water treatment has proven moderately successful, but still cannot manage
to account for billions of gallons discharged into the Hudson and East Rivers when storm water
levels exceed carrying capacity. Annually, it costs untold billions of taxpayer assets to filter waste-water, operate, maintain, and continually repair facilities. (PlanNYC
Sustainable Stormwater Management, pg 10).
This
proposal seeks to re-unite topographic principals within the grated urban context of
Manhattan to
highlight a simple solution to NYC’s storm water management: natural drainage
& mitigation. It is intended to be a
showcase of bio-filtration and sustainable development principals at the 'Crossroads
of the World'. To achieve this, massive
change is proposed to highlight the necessity and severity for which a new
system is needed in order to offset peak storm water demands.
Intensive
study of the current topographical expanse of Manhattan reveled that an elevated 'crest' runs North-South along a majority of the western edge of the island, forking/branching into a fingered V at the approximation of Times
Square before continuing south to the CBD (img. 2, Proposed Site Plan). A majority of the buried waterways flow perpendicular to this spine, encouraging strategic East/West streets to be
transformed along their long axis into bio-filtration boulevards. The human
density of the region & popularity of bicycles as a secondary form of transit
are further encouraged along these traffic free routes.
They contain far less traffic stops than their North/South counterparts,
and are forty feet wider than typical E/W streets.
As discovered
between a comparison of today’s current topographical maps, the 1863 Viele Map
& the 1789 British Commissioners Map of New York City, the areas both
currently occupied by Broadway & 42nd
Street were at one time the location of feeder streams,
channeling storm runoff into natural salt marshes upon joining the Hudson &
East River. Still remaining low
topographical features today, these avenues are to form the heart of
the proposal. Over the last century, the
City’s wetlands have shrank by almost 90% (PlanNYC Sustainable Stormwater
Management, pg 31). The proposal seeks
to mimic pre-development hydrology conditions, turning the crossroads of
Broadway & 42nd Street into a massive drainage swale that contains surface
wastewater onsite, slowly discharging it back into the aquifer along a
vegetative pathway leading to riverside marshlands for even greater filtration. By doing this, this system removes a immense chunk of
discharge from the city’s current water management infrastructure, while
effectively capturing & bio-filtering a majority of the onsite wastewater
before it returns to the main river courses.
It also creates positive 'green landmark' for the public, while providing an
even greater network of landscaped recreation space for non-motorized
travel in the heart of the city. As previously noted, the 800'
length of the East/West development encourages pedestrian and bicycle safety,
segregating it from the pathways of the few mass transit vehicles allowed to
transgress across the site. All pavement
situated on these greenways are to be pervious, with water drainage-ways
consisting of inclined surfaces lined with retentive vegetation. This includes numerous deciduous trees, groundcovers
and native ornamental grasses. Educational
displays along its length provide a “walking gallery” of information to users, showcasing
the city’s efforts to enforce sustainable practices while additionally tapping
the luxury & beauty of Manhattan
pedestrian life. These avenues are to
cut through the central city, extended to the larger network that currently
exists along city's perimeter.
In
conclusion, the proposal seek a return to a natural scheme after being removed from
public domain for more than two hundred years.
Using a careful study of the existing topographic conditions and previous
waterway transit routes, a landscaped swale is to be provided in order to
bio-filter onsite storm water. Highlighting
the intersection of Broadway & 42nd Street, this design is intended as an
international showcase of New York City's ability to preserve its ecological
system upon the very "Crossroads of the World".
Product Spec Sheet
Were your products used?
Join as a manufacturer to add your products.